39-5812. SITE REVIEW PANELS — MEMBERS, CHAIRMAN, QUORUM, MEETINGS, STAFF. (1) A site review panel shall be established to insure public input in the licensing process and to recommend to the director conditions which should be included in the siting license. Such conditions may include measures to mitigate public concerns for the following types of facilities:

(a) All commercial hazardous waste disposal facilities not in existence prior to July 1, 1985;

(b) All commercial hazardous waste treatment or storage facilities not in existence prior to July 1, 1985;

(c) Any on-site disposal of wastes listed pursuant to section 201(d)(2) and (e) as modified by section 209 of "The Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984," as enacted by the U.S. congress, for sites not in existence prior to July 1, 1985;

(d) Any significant expansion of the above-listed facilities after July 1, 1985.

A panel shall consist of ten (10) members to be appointed as provided in subsections (2) and (3) of this section.

(2) The following six (6) members shall serve on every panel established to review a siting license application:

(a) Three (3) members shall be representatives of this state, one (1) each from the department of environmental quality, the department of water resources and the Idaho transportation department. A member who is a representative of this state shall be appointed by each of the directors of the respective departments and a vacancy shall be filled as necessary by the appropriate director. A member who is a representative of the state shall be appointed to serve on site review panels for a period of two (2) years and may be appointed for additional two (2) year periods. In addition, a member who is a representative of the state may serve beyond the expiration of the member’s two (2) year period of service for so long a period of time as is necessary to complete action on siting license applications pending at the expiration of the member’s term.

(b) Three (3) members shall be public members appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate. One (1) public member shall be a geologist or hydrologist, one (1) an engineer, and one (1) a representative of industries which generate hazardous waste. One (1) public member shall be on the faculty of an institution of higher education in this state. A vacancy shall be filled for the unexpired portion of the period in the same manner as the original appointment. A member who is a public member shall be appointed to serve on site review panels for a period of three (3) years and may be appointed for additional three (3) year periods.

(3) The following four (4) members shall serve on a panel which is established to consider a particular siting license application:

(a) Two (2) members shall be appointed by the city council of the city located closest to or in which the hazardous waste treatment, storage, or disposal facility is proposed to be located, at least one (1) of whom shall be a resident of the city. The members serving pursuant to this subsection shall serve until the particular siting license application subject to their review is approved, or until the application is rejected and is no longer subject to their review.

(b) Two (2) members shall be residents of the county where the hazardous waste treatment, storage, or disposal facility is proposed to be located and shall be appointed by the board of commissioners of the county. The members serving pursuant to this subsection shall serve until the particular siting license application subject to their review is approved, or until the application is rejected and is no longer subject to their review.

(4) The member appointed as the representative of the state from the department shall be chairman of each panel and shall notify the city council of the nearest city and the board of county commissioners of a siting license application filed with the department, and shall instruct the city and county to appoint the necessary representatives to a panel. The chairman shall be a nonvoting member of the panel except when the chairman’s vote is necessary to break a tie vote.

(5) Six (6) of the ten (10) members of the panel shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business of the panel and the concurrence of six (6) members of the panel shall constitute a legal action of the panel. All meetings of the panel shall be conducted pursuant to the state open meeting law.

(6) The director shall make staff available to assist a panel in carrying out its responsibilities.

(7) Members of the panel who are not state employees shall be entitled to receive compensation as provided in section 59-509(b), Idaho Code.

History:

[39-5812, added 1985, ch. 113, sec. 1, p. 225; am. 1987, ch. 103, sec. 2, p. 208; am. 2001, ch. 103, sec. 53, p. 295.]